L'Anse Creuse North rallies to defeat L'Anse Creuse

By
George Pohly, The Macomb Daily

Friday, September 28, 2012

Forced to leave the game in the third quarter because of an injury, Sean Koski knew his absence would be short-lived, that he would be back under center for L’Anse Creuse North before the night was done.

“This was the best game of the year so far,” Koski, a junior quarterback, said after he ran for a touchdown, and passed for one after returning to the game, to lead the visiting Crusaders to a 19-14 victory over L’Anse Creuse in an emotion-charged Macomb Area Conference Blue Division football game between school-district rivals on a moonlit Friday night.

“This could be the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry of high school football,” Koski said. “This could be a great rivalry for years to come.

“I knew we were going to win this game. We never quit battling.”

Sophomore Trevor Conklin scored on a two-yard run with 1:19 left in the fourth quarter to lift L’Anse Creuse North from a 14-13 deficit.

The score came six plays after Deiontae Nicholas’ 60-yard punt return put the Crusaders in business at the Lancers’ 30-yard line.

But the Crusaders, who are 2-1 in the division, had to hang on.

L’Anse Creuse, which scored in the second and third quarters on runs by Elijah Richardson, converted on third-and-10 from its 20 when Lucas Lanzon passed 14 yards to Joe Lech.

L’Anse Creuse tried an option pass out of a reverse, and the play almost connected way downfield.

The Lancers did get to midfield, but ran out of time, which touched off an LCN celebration that included the Crusaders taking possession of the Armstrong Jug, the trophy that goes to the winner of the game and had been in the Lancers’ possession for two years.

“These boys wanted this so bad,” first-year L’Anse Creuse North coach Anthony Kiner said. “They played to the end. That’s what our teams are going to be about. That’s what Crusader Nation is about. When your back’s to the wall, you keep fighting.

“This is a huge rivalry, as you could see tonight. It’s an intra-district rivalry, just like (Chippewa Valley) and Dakota. They don’t like each other too much. That’s why this thing is so great. The kids all know each other.”

Kiner was confident L’Anse Creuse North would make the plays it needed on defense while the Lancers protected the lead.

“We hang our hat on our defense; it’s been great all year. It’s all about swarming to the ball.

“You’ve got to give it to L’Anse Creuse. They have a great running game. They’ve got some big beasts running the ball.”

Richardson’s three-yard run and Andrew Courtemanche’s second extra point of the night gave L’Anse Creuse a 14-7 lead in the third quarter.

Richardson, a bruising 250-pound junior who scored on a five-yard run in the second quarter, set up his second score when he motored 42 yards to the Crusaders’ three.

And it looked like two touchdowns might be enough for the Lancers.

L’Anse Creuse, relying on its ground game with carries by William Carter, Nick Koszewski, Lanzon and Richardson, moved from its 19 to the Crusaders’ 34 on a drive that bridged the third and fourth quarters.

But two negative yardage runs and an illegal procedure penalty put the Lancers in a third-and-18 situation at the LCN 42.

On that third down, the Crusaders’ Danny Callahan intercepted the ball and returned it to the LCN 43, but an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty pushed the Crusaders back to their 28.

That didn’t matter to Koski, who had returned to the lineup.

On the first play, Koski hit senior David Bercel-Dicker on a 72-yard catch-and-run play that resulted in a touchdown and brought the Crusaders to within 14-13.

Their deficit remained a point when the Lancers blocked the PAT.

The next time L’Anse Creuse had the ball, the Lancers could not duplicate their time-consuming drive of earlier in the half, and they were forced to punt after going one yard backward in three plays.

Nicholas then gave the Crusaders a spark with his punt return, and three completions by Koski, including two to Bercel-Dicker, moved LCN to the two and set up Conklin’s lead-changing touchdown run.

L’Anse Creuse North went 0-9 in 2011 and 2010, but the Crusaders are 4-2 overall and two victories away from clinching a state playoff berth.

“This program’s changing,” Kiner said. “These kids deserve it.”

Koski, who scored on a one-yard run in the second quarter, completed 12 of 21 passing attempts for 270 yards.

“He was fiery,” Kiner said, adding that Koski did not want to take off even the required one play after he walked from the field following an awkward hit in the backfield in the third quarter. ”He’s a great kid.”